Automobile door latch mechanism



Jan. 17, 1939. H. E. VAN VOORHEES 2,143,965

' AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 21, 1937IIIIlIIIll/IA IIIIII/IIIII III/l llllIII/{IIIII Jan. 17, 1939. H. E.VANVOORHEES 2,143,965

AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH MECHANISM Filed Aug. 21, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2Jae/W" *W aw;-

7 I: rlllflllll II /////1 I 1 H. E. VAN VOORHEES AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH,MECHANISM Jan. 17, 1939.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 21, 1957 Jan. 17, 1939.

H. E, VAN VOORHEES AUTOMOB ILE DOOR LATCH MECHANISM Filed Aug. 21, 19:57

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///////n'//A I7///////l Patented Jan. 17, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH MECHANISM Harold E. Van Voorhees, Detroit,Mich.

Application August 21,

7' Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved automobile door latchmechanism.

Automobile doors have commonly been equipped with door latches operableby the turning of the o handle, and these latches have generallyemployed a horizontally reciprocable bolt cooperating with the strikerplate on the pillar. Furthermore, the latch proper and the handleconstituted one general assembly. Such latches were subject to a numberof objections, the main ones being that the frictional drag in thesliding of the bolt necessitated the application of appreciable force toturn the handle in opening the door, and one could not remove the latchfor rea separate assembly so as to permit removal,

thereof, if occasion requires, without necessitating disturbance of thehandle mounting. The pull type handle permits having an entirely flush30 or semi-flush type handle which the demand for increased safety andthe desire for stream-lining V in modern automobile construction make,necessary. v l

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a latchin which the rotary bolt operates in a substantially vertical planebetween the edge of the door and the pillar, thus providing ample travelfor the bolt in locking and unlocking and avoiding interference with theadjacent channel for the glass run, that having always been a problemwhere the bolt works in a horizontal plane. Vertical bolt movement alsohas the advantage that the conventional dovetail on the door assuresaccurate location of the door within a small range measured vertically,and hence very little bolt travel is suflicient to latch the door,whereas the opening up of the joint between the 'door and pillar due tobody distortion is bound to afiect the operation of .a 50 la'chwhcrethehalt works horizontally.

These and other objects of the invention are brought out in the courseof the following de- 7 tailed description in which reference is made tothe accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a horizontal sectionthrough a parpair purposes without removing the entire asl 1937,Serial'No. 160,251

tion of an automobile door and pillar, showing a latch made inaccordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an inner side or rear view of a latch with the remoteoperating link appearing in vertical section;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the latch taken just inside thefront or outer wall of the cover plate, as indicated by the broken line3-3 in Fig. 1; i Fig. 4 is a sectional detail on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 5--5 of Fig. l

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the mechanism in Fig. 5 turned around;

Fig. '7 is a section in a plane parallel to Fig. 5, showing the remoteoperating link in locked position;

Fig. 8 is a similar section showing how the link is automaticallyretracted when the door is closed from the outside;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section on the broken line 99 of Fig. 2; l

Fig. 10 is a horizontal section similar to Fig. 1, showing. stillanother latch similar to the first one but having the rotary boltarranged to swing downwardly to latching position;

Figs. 11 and12 are vertical sections on the correspondingly numberedlines of Fig. 10;

Figs. 13 and 14 are sectional details illustrating two ways in which theright front door may be locked, the lock cooperating with the handle inFig. 14 to prevent operation thereof and cooperating with the door latchin Fig. 13 to prevent opening of the door; Fig. 15 is a sectional detailon the line l$--l5 of Fig.- 13, and i Fig. 16 is a side view of aportion of an automobile, showing a door part way open so as better todisclose the latch of my invention and its rela- 'tio'nship to the doordovetails.

Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding-parts throughoutthe views.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 9,13 designates the door and M the pillar.The striker plate [5 carried on the pillar cooperates with the rotarylatch bolt I6 in the casing I! carried on the edge of the door I 3, andin accordance with the present. invention the main tooth l8 andsecondary or safety tooth IS on the striker plate project upwardly, asshown, so as to cooperate with the tooth 20 on the bolt l6 swingable ina substantially vertical plane. The casing l1 comprises a flat sheetmetal back plate 2| arranged to be secured to the edge 1 of the door byscrews entered through the holes 22, and a stamped sheet metal coverplate 23 formed to provide a front wall 24 parallel to the back plate2|, a bottom wall 25, and side walls 26 and 21. The bottom wall 25 haslugs 25' projecting therefrom through slots in the back plate and theends are upset so as to rivet the cover plate in place. The same is trueof 9. lug 21' on the side wall 2?. Another lug 21a on the side wall 21projects through a notch in the edge of the back plate and is bent overbehind the plate, as shown. An arm 26a integral with the side wall 26projects through a notch in the edge of the back plate and provides asupport for the pivot 28 carrying the bell crank lever 28, commonlyreferred to as the roll back, operable through a pin and slot connection33 by a link or strap 38. The latter is arranged to be reciprocated bythe usual remote operating lever' (not shown) mounted on the inside ofthe door to open the door by movement of said lever in one direction, orlatch the door by movement of the lever in the opposite direction from acentral neutral position, in the well known way. This same arm 26aprovides a pivotal mounting at 32 for another bell crank lever 33,commonly referred to as the kick-out member, the function of which is toautomatically shift the door lock control lever just mentioned on theinside of the door by means of the link 3| to neutral position if ithappens to be shifted to latched position when the door is closed fromthe outside, whereby to eliminate danger of the driver locking himselfout.- The bolt is mounted for oscillation on a pin 34 supported atopposite ends on the back plate 2| and cover plate 23. A spiral spring35 carried on a stud 36 riveted to the front Wall 24 of the cover platebears against the bottom of the bolt l6, as at 31, next to the arcuaterecess 38 machined in one side of the bottom of the bolt and tendsnormally to urge the bolt in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3,toward latching engagement with the striker plate IS. The recess 38provides clearance for the spring 35 when the bolt is swung downwardlyfrom the latched position shown in Fig. 3. A pin 39 is suitably securedin the bolt l6 transversely of its toothed outer end and has an enlargedend 40 projecting through an arcuate slot 4| in the back plate 2| struckon an arc with the pivot 34 as a center. A bolt actuating bell cranklever 42 pivotally mounted on a stud 43 riveted to the back plate has aslot 44 therein, the upper side of which bears on the projecting end 40of the pin 39, but the lower side of which is bent out of the plane ofthe lever 42 clear of the end of the pin, as indicated at 45 (see Fig.5), so that the lever 42 when swung in a clockwise direction, as viewedin Fig. 2, will force the bolt I5 downwardly to retracted position, butthe bolt l6 can swing downwardly without affecting the position oi thelever 42, as for example, when the door is being closed and the toothedend 20 of the bolt i6 rides over the teeth l9 and I3 of the strikerplate IS. A wire spring 46 coiled on and secured to the stud 43 has afree end bearing on a lug 4'! projecting from the lever 42, wherebynormally to hold the lever in the position shown in Fig. 2. A lug 48 onthe lever 42 is disposed under the finger 49 on the bell crank lever 29and when the lever 29 is operated by a pull on the link 3|, it is clearthat the lever 42 will be moved against the action of the spring 46 in aclockwise direction to retract the bolt l6 from latched engagement withthe striker plate IS. The lug 41 is also operable by a finger 50provided on the end of the door handle 5| pivotally mounted on theoutside of the door, as at 52, on a suitable support 53 secured to theouter wall of the door. Obviously, when the handle 5| is pulledoutwardly, the finger 5B moving inwardly turns the lever 42 in aclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, and accordingly withdraws thebolt Hi from latched engagement.

with the striker plate. The handle 5| is shown with its free end 54normally disposed in a recessed portion 55 on the outer wall of thedoor, thus making the handle nearly flush with the outside of the door.The projecting parts, indicated at 58 and 51, on the outside of the doorare strips of molding suitably aligned with the handle 5| to furthermoreaccentuate the flush design of the handle. When the door is opened, thebolt is is limited in its upward movement by engagement of the end 40 ofthe pin 39 in the upper end of the slot 4|. The hood shown at 58 formedintegral with the side wall 21 of the cover 23 and projecting over thepivoted end of the bolt i6 is mainly for strength but also serves toshield the pivot pin against dirt and water.

The operation should be clear from the foregoing description. When thedoor is closed, the rotary bolt I6 is deflected downwardly against theaction of the spring 35 when it rides under the teeth I8 and IQ of thestriker plate. If the door doesn't happen to be swung with suflicientforce to close it fully, the tooth 20 on the bolt IE is sure to catch onthe safety tooth l9 so that the door will not be free to swing open. Inopening the door from the inside, the link 3| is pulled by turning theinside handle, and the bell crank lever 29 operates the lever 42 byengagement of the finger 49 on the lug 48, the lever 42 being swungagainst the action of its spring 43 to retract the bolt |G by means ofits pin projection 40. In opening the door from the outside,'the handle5| is simply pulled outwardly to release the latch and swing the dooropen simultaneously. The finger 50 in the pivotal movement of the handlebears against the lug 41 and turns the lever 42 against the action ofthe spring 45 to retract the bolt l6 similarly as just described.

This type of latch obviously closes and opens eastending to causebinding, whereas in the sliding bolt action the pressure applied on theouter end of the bolt sets up side thrust between the bolt and itsguides tending toward a binding effect. It will also be noticed thatwith a latch of the present design there. is no problem at all ofavoiding interference with the adjacent channel 59 serving as a runwayfor the raisable glass panel 60 in the door With other types of latches,it was always a problem to provide sufiicient bolt movement withoutinterfering with the glass run. Another advantage in the present designis the fact that the latch may be removed from the door withoutdisturbing the handle, and vice versa. With the other designs the handleand latch formed one complete assembly, and if it was desired to removethe latch for inspection or repair, the handle had to be taken ofl withit. A very important advantage in the present against up and downmovement, and hence a ill latch of the present designwhere the boltworks in a vertical plane is more'reliable and will lock positivelythroughout the life of the'car regardless of normal, and even abnormal,distortion in the body and door. The bolt l6 swinging about the pivot 34as a center under the action of its spring 35 will furthermore tend todraw the 1 door inwardly toward closing tightly. That is to say, if thetooth 20 at the time the door closes hasonly slight engagement with thetooth l8, the spring 35 tending to move the bolt I6 upwardly will causethe door to move inwardly as the tooth Z rideshome on the tooth l8. Thestriker plate I5, as indicated in Fig. 1, is fastened by means of screws6| passed through slots 62 in the wall of the pillar and threaded in atapped plate 63. The striker plate may therefore be ad- I justed in orout on the pillar as occasion requires, so as to have the door closeeasily and tightly. This adjustment in a way supplements the takeupwhich the bolt l6 has in riding on the striker plate, as just described.

The link 3| for remote operation of the latch has a lug 64 on the endthereof having a projection 65 arranged to enter a slot 66 in the back'plate 2| when the link 3| is moved by means of its operating lever onthe inside of the door to the position shown in Fig. '7. With the lug 64in this position, the lever 42 is not free to swing downwardly, becausethe lug 48 is directly over the lug 64. The door is therefore securelylatched, because the handle'5l cannot actuate the lever 42. Now, thelever 33, previously mentioned, has two lugs 61 and 68 thereof. The lug61 is disposed beneath the free end of the bolt l6, and in the event thelever on the inside of the door has been moved to locked position, sothat the link 3| is in the position shown in Fig.

"7, and the door is being swung closed, the bolt l6 upon engagement withthe striker plate l will swing the lever 33 about its center 32 byengagement with the lug 61. In this movement, the lug 68 working throughthe slot 69 in the back plate 2| strikes the end of the link 3i andkicks it away from the back plate 2| to the retracted position shown inFig. 8. In other words, the door is automatically unlocked, so that thedriver will not accidentally lock himself out. The only a way he canlock the car with these latches is to operate them from theinside of thecar and then lock the right-hand front door with the key taken from theignition lock, it being customary to have the one key fit both looks.The key type lock is not shown herein except to the extent ofillustrating in Fig. 13 the manner in which the present type of latch isarranged to be locked from the outside of the door by means of a key.

The door handle and latch shown in Figs. 10 to 12 are similar to whathas just been described, but in this construction the striker plate lfiais below the casing Ila of the latch, and the rotary bolt I6a swingsdownwardly in a vertical plane toward locking engagement with the toothlBa or Ida on the striker plate. The latch construction is practicallythe same as in the other design, as should be apparent from thecorresponding numbers applied to the parts. One difference is shown inas required in the opening of the door.

. Fig. 12 in which the wall 58a is shown as carryin a rubber bumper l0snapped in place in a hole III, the bumper being disposed so it will beengaged by the shank of the bolt I6a at the' limit of its throw inlatching. This silences the operation of the latch and also relieves thepin 34a carrying the bolt Ida from excessive shock and .jar andconsequent wear and loosening. The handle Sla is pivoted at 52a in aneasily removable and replaceable plug 53a. The latter is recessed on oneside, as at II, to receive the lug 12 on a plate 13 fastened to theinside of the outer wall of the door. Screws l4 threading in the ing 15bent inwardly from the other end of the plate opposite the lug 12 arearranged to enter holes 16 provided therefor in that end of the plug53a,

whereby to fasten the handle in place securely and yet permit easyremoval and replacement thereof whenever desired. Another rubber bumperblock T! is provided on the plug 53a to be engaged by a shoulder 18 onthe handle, whereby to prevent rattling and also to further silence theoperation of the latch. It is believed to be apparent that the samegeneral advantages are obtained with this latch and handle as with thethe guide 83 suitably secured to the casing ila r.

of the handle-operated door latch. A flat shoul der 84 is provided onthe back plate 2 la by punching out a small boss 85, as illustrated inFig. 15. This shoulder is in alignment with one side of the notch 86provided in the lever 42a when the door is closed. The notched portion81 of the lever 42a is struck up to clear the boss 85, as also appearsin Fig. 15. Ordinarily, of course, the bolt 82 is in retracted position,permitting the door to be opened and closed at will, but when the dooris closed and the key inserted in the lock 19 and turned to operate thebolt 82 to the operative position shown in Fig. 13, it is clear that thedoor is securely locked, inasmuch as the rotary bolt l6a cannot moveunless the lever 42a is turned either by means of the handle 51a or bymeans of the link 31a operated by the inside handle on the door.preventing unauthorized opening of the door, because the bolt 62 willengage this shoulder in the event an effort is made to force the lock bymeans of the handle 5la. Obviously, therefore, the lever 42!: will notgive as easily as it might otherwise, and the bolt 82 cannot be bent asit might otherwise so as to allow thev door to be opened; The lock I9is, of course, provided only on the right front door, inasmuch as theother doors can be locked from the inside in the usual way.

Fig. 14 shows the lock 19 with its square shank 80' operating theeccentric 8| to reciprocate the bolt 82' arranged to lock the handle Bidand thereby lock the door against unauthorized opening. The bolt 82'cooperates with a shoulder 50b on the same side of the pivot 52a as thefinger 58o. thereby locking the handle 51a so that it cannot be swungoutwardly about its pivot 52a, The plate 13' in which the handleassembly is detachably secured will in this case have an extension 88 toThe shoulder 84 offers added security in carry the bolt assembly. A lug89 struck from I in the extension 88 where the opening 90 is providedfor extension therethrough of the bolt 82' pro,- vides a bearing for thebolt, as well as an abutment to prevent the'bolt from being forced backif an attempt is made to open the door by force applied to the handle5la. Here again it is clear that the bolt 82' will ordinarily be inretracted position, allowing the door to be opened and closed at will,but when the operator inserts a key in the lock 19' and turns it tooperate the bolt 82 to the operative position shown, the handle Sin islocked and the door therefore cannot be opened. This key lock will beprovided, of course, only on the right front door, inasmuch as the otherdoors can be locked from the inside, as previously described. 7

Fig. 16 illustrates the applicationof the latch of Figs. 10 to 12 to adoor. A key lock 19, like that shown in Fig. 13, is illustrated inconnection therewith, and, of course, the lock 19' of Fig. 14 might beused instead.

' 9i and 92 are the dovetail projections on the door arranged to enterthe recesses 9| and 92' on the pillar in the usual way so as to locatethe door accurately with respect to the body when closed. It should beclear from this that since the bolt lBa swings in a vertical planebetween the edge of the door and the pillar to interlock with thestriker plate l5a, and the interlocking dovetails keep the dooraccurately aligned vertically with the body, the door is always assuredof positive latching regardless of any ordinary amount of distortion inthe body and consequent wider separation-of the edge of the door fromthe pillar. Furthermore, the door is not apt to open accidentallybecause of twisting or weaving set up in the body in riding overobstructions or rough roads,

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding ofthe objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims havebeen drawn with a View to covering all legitimate modifications andadaptations.

I claim:

1. Latch mechanism for a door of a vehicle body, said door being mountedfor swinging movement to and from closed position and adapted to havemovably mounted therein a window pane with a portion of the path ofmovement of one of its edges in close proximity to a portion of the freevertical edge wall of the door, said mechanism comprising a springtensioned latch bolt element mounted for swinging movement in a planeparallel to said free vertical edge wall of the door toward and awayfrom latching position, an operating lever mounted for swinging movementabout a horizontal axis and in a plane substantially parallel with theplane of movement of the bolt element and operatively connected to saidbolt element, said operating lever being adapted for operation byan'outside operated retracting means, said retracting means including ahandle mounted for swinging movement outwardly away from the outer faceof the door and on an axis at substantially right angles to the axis ofsaid bolt to'actuate said lever, and inside operated retracting meansincluding a roll back engaging said lever and disposed adjacent theinner face of the door.

2.- Latch mechanism for a door of a vehicle body, said door beingmounted for swinging movement to and from closed position and having afree vertical edge wall, said mechanism comprising a vertical'face plateadapted to be mounted on said vertical edge wall of the door and havingan arcuate slot provided therein, a latch bolt element on the outer sideof said plate slidingly engaging the same as a guide and swingablevertically toward and away from latching position, an operating lever inclose juxtaposition to the inner side of said plate parallel to theplane of movement of the latch bolt element mounted for swingingmovement relative to the plate about a substantially horizontal axis andoperatively connected to the aforesaid bolt element through said arcuateslot, said operating lever being adapted for operation by an outsideoperated retracting means including a manually operable member arrangedto actuate said lever, and inside operated retractingmeans including aroll back also arranged to operate said lever.

3. Latch mechanism for a door of a vehicle body, said door being mountedfor swinging movement to and from closed position and having a freevertical edge wall, said mechanism comprising a spring tensioned latchbolt element mounted for swinging movement in a plane parallel to saidfree vertical edge wall of the door toward and away from latchingposition, an operating lever mountedfor swinging movement about ahorizontal axis and operatively connected to said bolt element, saidoperating lever being adapted for operation by'an outside operatedretracting means, inside operating means including a roll back engagingsaid lever and disposed adjacent the inner face of the door and a remotecontrol strap having a lost motion connection with said roll back, astop on said strap movable upon said lost motion into blocking relationto said operating lever, and a movable member actuated by said strapinto the path of retracting movement of said bolt and movable by saidbolt to force said stop in a direction away from said operating lever.

4. Latch mechanism for a door of a vehicle body, said door being mountedfor swinging movement to and from closed position and having a freevertical edge wall, said mechanismcomprising a vertical face plateadapted to be mounted on said vertical edge wall of the door and havingan arcute slot provided therein, a latch bolt element on the outer sideof saidplate slidingly engaging the same as a guide and swingablevertically toward and away from latching position, an operating lever onthe inner side of said plate mounted for swinging movement about asubstantially horizontal axis and operatively connected to the aforesaidbolt element through said arcuate slot, two laterally spaced abutmentson said operating lever, said operating lever being adapted to beoperated by an outside operated retraoting means including a manuallyoperable member for actuating said lever by engagement with one of theabutments thereon, and inside operated retracting means including a rollback for actuating said lever by engagement with the other abutment onone side thereof, a remote control strap having a lost motion connectionwith said roll back, an end portion of said strap being adapted uponsaid lost motion to be disposed upon the opposite side of said otherabutment for blocking movement of said operating lever, and a pivotedmember actuated by said strap into the path of retracting movement ofsaid bolt and rockable by said bolt to force said end portion in adirection away from said operating lever.

5. Latch mechanism for a door of a vehicle body, said door being mountedfor swinging movement to and from closed position and adapted to havemovably mounted therein a window pane with a portion of the path ofmovement of one of its edges in close proximity to a portion of the treevertical edge wall of the door, said mechanism comprising a springtensioned latch bolt element mounted for swinging movement his. planeparallel to said free vertical edge wall of the door toward and awayfrom latching position, a vertical plate supporting said latch boltelement on the outer face thereof, said plate having a slot providedtherein, an operating lever mounted for swinging movement about ahorizontal axis relative to the inner face or said plate and operativelyconnected to said bolt element through said slot, said operating leverbeing adapted for operation by an outside operated retracting means,inside operating means including a roll back engaging said lever anddisposed adjacent the inner face of the door and a remote control straphaving a lost motion connection with said roll back, said plate havinganother slot provided therein, a stop on said strap movable upon saidlost motion into said slot into blocking relation to said operatinglever, said plate having still another slot provided therein, and apivoted kick-out member working through said slot from the inner face ofsaid plate and actuated by said strap into the path of retractingmovement or said bolt and movable by said bolt to kick the strap so asto force said stop in a direction away from said operating lever.

6. Latch mechanism for a door of a vehicle body, said door being mounted{or swinging movement to and from closed position and having a freevertical edge wall, said mechanism comprising a spring tensioned latchbolt element mounted for swinging movement in a plane para lel to saidfree vertical edge wail towarc". and away from latching position, anoperating lever in close parallel juxtaposition to the latch boltmounted for swinging movement about a horizontal axis and operativelyconnected to said bolt element, said operating lever being adapted foroperation by inside and outside operated retracting means, the outsideretracting means including a handle mounted for swinging movementoutwardly away from the outer face of the door on an axis substantiallyparallel to the outside of the door to actuate said lever, and lockingmeans operable from the outside of the door and including a bolt movableinto and out of blocking relation to said operating lever.

7. Latch mechanism for a door of a vehicle body, said door being mountedfor swinging move,- ment to and from closed position and having a freevertical edge wail, said mechanism comprising a spring tensioned latchbolt element mounted for swinging movement in a plane parallel to saidfree vertical edge wall toward and away from latching position, anoperating lever in close parallel juxtapositionto the latch bolt mountedfor swinging movement about a horizontal axis and operatively connectedto said bolt element, said operating lever being adapted for operationby inside and outside operated retracting means, outside retractingmeans including a handle mounted for swinging movement outwardly awayfrom the outer face of the door on an axis substantially parallel to theoutside of the door engaging said lever to actuate it, and locking meansoperable from the outside of the door for blocking the operation of theaforesaid handle.

.HAROLD E. VAN VOORHEES.

